God Sees Our Struggle I don’t know about you, but when I’m facing something, I can feel so isolated, even knowing that my husband is right there in the boat with me. We can often be surrounded by a community that has said, “Let me help you,” yet still sit in our struggle all alone. I’m very guilty of this. This reminds me of the scripture in Mark chapter 6. The disciples were in a boat, and there was a storm. They were struggling to paddle and get to shore. They were all in i

More than a Check List Are you a list maker? What about setting goals for the year? I am definitely a list maker, but I don’t usually set yearly goals. This year, though, I did make a list of things I wanted to work on. For work, I wrote: Stay focused and organized. Be intentional for God. Personally, I wrote: Grow closer to God. Get healthy. Spend time with family. Pay off debt. Connect with others. I have this list taped to my desktop in my office so I can see it every day.

Trusting God with our loved ones I have struggled with anxiety at different times in my life. In those moments, I found myself focusing on the "what ifs" and everything that could happen. Negative thoughts would swirl around in my mind, and I would become fearful of things that might never even happen. As you can imagine, I often talked myself out of doing certain things because of those fears. Then I had kids. Now those anxious thoughts didn't just revolve around me or my hu

Tuned to the Harmony We have all heard music in one form or another, and when we listen to it, we naturally follow the melody because it is the most prominent part that we hear. It feels natural to follow. But the moment you try to switch to the harmony, it becomes more difficult. You begin to question whether you've found it or if it even sounds right. It can feel unstable. Your pitch isn't necessarily bad (maybe), your ear is just tuned to the melody instead of the harmony.

God is THE Light I have read Genesis many times, and every time I’m amazed by the account of creation. One thing that has always stood out to me is that God created light before He created the sun, moon, and stars. Genesis 1:3-5 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning

Trust in the Lord Trust—that’s a word that brings a variety of reactions. There are people we can think of immediately when we hear it. There’s that cringe feeling we get when trust has been broken. Then there are those relationships that fall somewhere in between. I think most of us fall in the middle. There are people we know we can trust, but at the same time, the thought of learning to trust someone new feels like a lot of work, and we kind of just go, “Ugh, I’m good.” Th

When We Know Better Last night at our family game night, we were playing Scrabble, and one of my sons played a word. We knew the word wasn't spelled correctly, but we also knew that the Scrabble dictionary sometimes allows alternate spellings, so we let it go. After he played and we moved on with the game we decided to check it, and our suspicions were confirmed. We then spent about ten minutes discussing the situation because my husband had already played off the incorrectly

Faithfulness Over Perfection I was at lunch with some friends, and one asked another, “If you could go back to who you were a year ago, what would you tell yourself?” They answered, “Not to rush and feel like I have to learn everything at once, but to take my time and take it all in.” I thought about that answer because it is so true. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and think we have to learn everything right away, and when we don’t, we get upset with ourselves… well, a

God, What Am I Missing? Have you ever had days or even weeks where no matter what you did, nothing seemed to go right? Your conversations, your kindness, your actions, your choices — nothing seemed to work out. I have become so frustrated with myself because it seemed like no matter what I did or said, I was misunderstood, not fully heard, or something else entirely. I knew I had to be the problem because everyone around me seemed to have no trouble communicating. Those are t

Simple Living, Deep Faith I grew up in the city limits. I went to college in Oklahoma City, and I always thought I would live downtown in a high-rise apartment. God had other plans. When I moved back home and my husband and I got married, we lived in an apartment in our town — not downtown. When we started looking at houses, we focused mainly on the city, though we were also open to something on the outskirts. But we ended up building our house 15 minutes from the nearest tow

Making Way for God Through the Trials We know what comfort feels like, but I think we truly know, feel, and remember every trial we have faced because those are the moments that shape us. Those trials reveal the areas in our lives where growth and change are needed. Life will always have trials and conflicts, but it’s how we handle them that reveals our growth and character. If you want to find out where your weaknesses are, just wait for a conflict or trial to arise. Isaiah

Fall On Your Knees It was about 2003, and I was going through a growing period in my walk with the Lord. I had rededicated my life back to God in 1999, this time with a full understanding of what that truly meant (I was 7 years old when I got saved). God saw where my heart was headed, what I was relying on, and what I was giving my attention to, and He took it away from me. I needed that jolt. It was through that stripping away of people and things that I found myself despera

Knowing God, Following His Instruction God’s righteousness refers to His perfect, holy nature and just actions. He is inherently good and faithful. God’s instruction — that is His Word and the guidance the Holy Spirit gives us. If God is righteous and good, then it makes sense that His instruction would guide us in the same direction. In being an ambassador of Christ, we need direction, so we know how to live that kind of life. When we look into the Word of God, we find that

Seek the Lord in Faith Through All Seasons and Reap the Harvest That is Coming I sought the Lord for Scripture for the week, and He gave me three. At first, I was trying to figure out how they even connected. So, I read each one along with the commentary in my study Bible… and they do, in fact, go together. They bring hope, they teach patience, and they show that seeking the Lord in all things through faith is what leads us to the reward — the Kingdom of Heaven. Those scriptu

Let God Speak The voices of this world are loud — and the loudest is usually our own. So often, we tell others to speak kindly to themselves. We encourage them, and we want them to encourage others. Yet minutes later, we can do something and speak to ourselves in a way we would never suggest to someone else — or even speak to someone else that way. I am guilty of this exact thing. I tell my kids to speak with kindness and not to talk down to themselves… but what I say and wha

God’s Plan We misstep. We make mistakes. But we are never out of God’s sight. Jeremian 29:11-13 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. God wants us to succeed. He wants us to live in His will and remember that no matter how we falter, He

Grace We are often so quick to give others grace, yet so hard on ourselves. We hold on to mistakes. We replay moments. We have full conversations in our heads. We wish we had done better or said something different. And through all of this, are we giving ourselves the same grace we would give someone else? Personally, I’m even quicker to forgive others than I am to forgive myself. Where did we learn this? This isn’t what the Bible teaches, nor is it how Jesus shows us we shou

Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” The book of Romans is so powerful, and much of it applies to how we are to walk with Christ. Paul holds nothing back when preaching the Gospel to anyone and everyone, and I love that about this part of the Bible. None of the apostles held back — they

Have any of you ever stolen something? I did… I was about 6 years old, and I was at Walmart with my mom. I remember seeing the single pieces of gum — the Super Bubble brand. When you chewed that gum, you practically broke your teeth trying to get it soft enough to enjoy. Well, I really wanted one, but I didn’t have the 25 cents it cost. Instead of asking my mom, I just slipped one into my pocket. I stole it… it was just the beginning of my rebellion — just kidding. I wasn’t t

Speak Out 2 Timothy 1:7-10 - "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord…. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he